Tide of popularity rises once more for waterbeds

TAMARAC, Fla. — Waterbeds still elicit a wink, wink, nudge, nudge whenever they come up in conversation — but two pioneers of the industry in the United States are hoping to generate a new wave of popularity for the old furniture concept by using a wholesome new pitch.

Talking about temperature-control innovations and health-conscious consumers, inventor Charles Hall and City Furniture CEO Keith Koenig don’t sound like wild and crazy guys. They aren’t the ones who joke that millennials claiming to have never seen a waterbed likely were conceived in one.

They just sound enviably well-rested.

In the City Furniture showroom in Tamarac, a sign promises Afloat mattresses are “not your parents’ waterbed.” Koenig flops onto one, describing how it contours to his physique while also fitting into standard bedding and stylish bed frames.

He’s not selling nostalgia, and he doesn’t bring up waterbeds’ notorious reputation until he’s asked point-blank about it.

“We’re not selling better sex. We’re selling better sleep, more comfortable sleep, temperature control,” Koenig said.

Hall fully agrees that health benefits are an Afloat’s main selling points.

But he says he also told Koenig, “Come on, we can’t be boring!”

Koenig, whose furniture store chain started as Waterbed City in 1971, has joined with Hall and former waterbed manufacturer Michael Geraghty to form Tamarac-based Hall Flotation, which produces the Afloat waterbeds. They range from about $2,000 to $3,300 — adjusting for inflation, about the same cost as a waterbed in 1975.

They’ve traded product names Hall used in the 1970s such as The Pleasure Pit and Pleasure Island for the sober-sounding Firm and Pure models.

“Seeing a thing undulate like they did in the early 1970s, people looked at it and said, ‘Well, this is an interesting ride,’” Hall said. “Now it’s comfort first.”